Dons old boy Paatelainen puts Hibs players on Reds alert

HIBS boss Mixu Paatelainen today warned his players not to take the threat of Aberdeen lightly after the Dons' struggle to make the SPL top six.

While Pittodrie manager Jimmy Calderwood may regard this season as something of a disappointment, Paatelainen believes his old club can be pretty proud of their achievements.

And he also insisted talk of a summer clear-out with a raft of players joining Michael Hart and Chris Clark in heading for the exit door will have no bearing on the outcome of Saturday's clash in the Granite City.

He said: "Some people may think this is an easier game because Aberdeen just made it to the top six and because there will be changes there in the summer. all that sort of stuff.

"But I know they have a team full of professionals who play for their pride and every point. They want to win every game and they do have quality.

"Aberdeen had a great run in Europe which wasn't down to luck, they had good runs in both the CIS Insurance Cup and Scottish Cups, making the semi-finals in each competition and they qualified for the top six in the League."

The danger the Dons pose to Hibs' dream of UEFA Cup football were underlined by their battling performance at Celtic Park last weekend, a match from which they should have taken a point with referee Iain Brines admitting he was wrong to chalk off what would have been an equaliser from Zander Diamond.

However, while the Dons may be driven by a sense of injustice, Paatelainen admitted that with only four matches remaining his players had little room for error, a draw away to Euro rivals Dundee United leaving Motherwell in pole position for the last UEFA Cup spot, the Fir Park outfit a point ahead with two games in hand.

He said: "Tannadice was no slip-up. Some suggested the result favoured Motherwell but we gained a point and now we hope to take all three from what is another difficult away fixture.

"If we can make it four points from two tough away games I think that would be a fantastic achievement and will put us in a great position to attack third place."

Paatelainen refused to countenance a discussion regarding how a draw or defeat might affect Hibs' dream, simply saying: "I am not contemplating anything but winning."

The outcome of Motherwell's home match against United could also change the complexion of the SPL table over the weekend.

Paatelainen said: "I'm sure Motherwell would have been praying for a draw when we went to Tannadice.

"Now we want them to draw with United on Saturday. It's a dog-eat-dog situation at the moment and whoever does the best will deserve third place.

"We can only worry about how we do and make sure we are on the front foot and determined.

"The players are desperate to do well and win the game."

Saturday will be Paatelainen's first return to Pittodrie where he spent three-and-a-half years as a player but he expects that to be forgotten as he makes the long walk from the tunnel to the away dug-out.

He laughed: "I'll get pelters, I'd expect nothing less.

"Aberdeen were relatively successful when I was there, it's good go be going back and I am looking forward to it."

• HIBS under-19 side went down 2-1 to Falkirk yesterday. The youngsters now travel to Kilwinning on Saturday to face Kilmarnock.